Salako: Football needs the heart as well as the head

Football club owners must have a heart that is 40 per cent like a fan’s, according to John Salako.

John Salako is an ambassador for Barclays ‘Don’t pass it, ping it’ campaign

Football club owners must have a heart that is 40 per cent like a fan’s, according to John Salako.

The ex-Royals winger believes that successful chairman must be prepared to take risks if they are to reap the financial rewards. And at Reading, it looks like that is starting to be the case.

Owner Anton Zingarevich backed Brian McDermott with late January bids of £10million and £8million for Gylfi Sigurdsson and Tom Ince respectively.

Salako, who played 120 times for the club between 2001 and 2004, feels, though, that the Russian could have put his hand deeper in his pocket during the summer.

“Absolutely,” the former England ace told getreading
when asked if he thought the Russian would have splashed the cash.

“Anton Zingarevich came at the right time, there was plenty of excitement and the rewards of being in the Barclays Premier League are huge.

“It is the magic circle and the place to play – globally it is the biggest league out there.

“You don’t need massive investment – I would have thought £15-20million for four or five players.

“When you run a club it has to be 60 per cent business, but you need 40 per cent to be the heart of a fan.

“You have to speculate at times, push the boat out – because it can be a case of what if. Football is a tough business.

“If Reading can stay up this year – with the financial rewards coming – it will be massive.

“They will probably be in a scrap until the end, it will be tough and I think it’s looking like three from five who will go down.

“It was doom and gloom in December when we lost seven in a row and by hook or crook we got that first win against Everton. It didn’t happen again quickly, but things have picked up again.

“I think there is a lot of optimism and if you have that with momentum then confidence will be high.”

Salako also feels that Reading are in safe hands with McDermott at the helm.

McDermott was working in the Academy when Salako first joined Royals.

He continued: “I worked quite closely with Brian.

“It’s brilliant to see the progression and Sir John Madejski has always looked to promote from within.

“Brian is a great coach and man-manager and he understands the boardroom too. He bridges the gap and he shows you don’t have to be a screamer and a shouter to be a manager.

“He’s one of a new generation and will need that team spirit and hard work to stay up this year. They will have to pull together as a collective and every game will have to be a cup final.

“It’s about desire, organisation and maximising everything on the pitch.

“On any given day, if you’re focused then you can beat people by just over-powering them and the fans will also be the 12th man. Brian will tell the players that if they want it enough then they can beat better teams.”

Two of McDermott’s January signings, Hope Akpan, a £350,000 capture from League Two side Crawley Town, and Nick Blackman, a £1.2m recruit from League One side Sheffield United, spread negativity amongst the fans seeking big-name stars. But Salako has faith that Reading’s policy of taking on rough diamonds will come good.

He added: “Akpan has come in and given some real solidity in midfield.

“He looks a talent. I saw him a couple of times at Crawley and I spoke to Steve Coppell about him.

“Coppell has always been brilliant at finding hidden gems. That’s one of his strengths. That is what Reading has been built on.

“Now they are looking for that next generation of players that will be here for a while.”

John Salako is an ambassador for Barclays ‘Don’t pass it, ping it’ campaign.

Pingit is revolutionary technology developed by Barclays allowing people to transfer money using their mobile phone.